Designing and tuning a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller appears to be conceptually intuitive, but can be hard in practice, if multiple (and often conflicting) objectives such as short transient and high stability are to be achieved. Usually, initial designs obtained by all means need to be adjusted repeatedly through computer simulations until the closed-loop system performs or co...
View full abstract»

Emergency scenarios may necessitate autonomous vehicle maneuvers up to their handling limits in order to avoid collisions. In these scenarios, vehicle stabilization becomes important to ensure that the vehicle does not lose control. However, stabilization actions may conflict with those necessary for collision avoidance, potentially leading to a collision. This paper presents a new control structu...
View full abstract»

In this paper, a model predictive control (MPC) approach for controlling an active front steering system in an autonomous vehicle is presented. At each time step, a trajectory is assumed to be known over a finite horizon, and an MPC controller computes the front steering angle in order to follow the trajectory on slippery roads at the highest possible entry speed. We present two approaches with di...
View full abstract»

Fault detection, isolation, and reconfiguration (FDIR) is an important and challenging problem in many engineering applications and continues to be an active area of research in the control community. This paper presents a survey of the various model-based FDIR methods developed in the last decade. In the paper, the FDIR problem is divided into the fault detection and isolation (FDI) step, and the...
View full abstract»

This paper presents a vehicle handling modification approach that tracks the dynamics of a general nonlinear planar reference model. The control structure is a combination of linear and nonlinear state feedback with feedforward of reference model yaw moment, lateral force, and longitudinal force at the vehicle center of gravity. The modified closed-loop system is demonstrated to be stable and has ...
View full abstract»

This paper presents a novel vehicular adaptive cruise control (ACC) system that can comprehensively address issues of tracking capability, fuel economy and driver desired response. A hierarchical control architecture is utilized in which a lower controller compensates for nonlinear vehicle dynamics and enables tracking of desired acceleration. The upper controller is synthesized under the framewor...
View full abstract»

Thanks to recent development of reciprocal communication networks and electric power management infrastructure, an energy management system, which can automatically regulate supply-demand imbalances under conditions of the users' convenience and economy, is attracting great attention. On the other hand, finding of new usage of the batteries employed in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles...
View full abstract»

A power-split hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) combines the advantages of both series and parallel hybrid vehicle architectures by utilizing a planetary gear set to split and combine the power produced by electric machines and a combustion engine. Because of the different modes of operation, devising a near optimal energy management strategy is quite challenging and essential for these vehicles. To i...
View full abstract»

A widely recognized shortcoming of model predictive control (MPC) is that it can usually only be used in applications with slow dynamics, where the sample time is measured in seconds or minutes. A well-known technique for implementing fast MPC is to compute the entire control law offline, in which case the online controller can be implemented as a lookup table. This method works well for systems w...
View full abstract»

Hybrid vehicle techniques have been widely studied recently because of their potential to significantly improve the fuel economy and drivability of future ground vehicles. Due to the dual-power-source nature of these vehicles, control strategies based on engineering intuition frequently fail to fully explore the potential of these advanced vehicles. In this paper, we present a procedure for the de...
View full abstract»

Electrical energy storage systems are extensively utilized in applications, including electrified vehicles, renewable power generation, and electronic devices. While discharging events are a function of the power demand, the charging procedure is often controllable. This paper evaluates different charging strategies for stand-alone supercapacitors (SCs), lithium-ion (Li-ion), and lead-acid batteri...
View full abstract»

This paper develops a strategy to coordinate the charging of autonomous plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) using concepts from non-cooperative games. The foundation of the paper is a model that assumes PEVs are cost-minimizing and weakly coupled via a common electricity price. At a Nash equilibrium, each PEV reacts optimally with respect to a commonly observed charging trajectory that is the average...
View full abstract»

A two-layer control scheme based on model predictive control (MPC) operating at two different timescales is proposed for the energy management of a grid-connected microgrid (MG), including a battery, a microturbine, a photovoltaic (PV) system, a partially non predictable load, and the input from the electrical network. The high-level optimizer runs at a slow timescale, relies on a simplified model...
View full abstract»

This paper presents an integrated control approach for autonomous driving comprising a corridor path planner that determines constraints on vehicle position, and a linear time-varying model predictive controller combining path planning and tracking in a road-aligned coordinate frame. The capabilities of the approach are illustrated in obstacle-free curved road-profile tracking, in an application c...
View full abstract»

Electric machines (motors and generators) are over actuated systems. In this paper, we show how to exploit this actuation redundancy in order to mitigate machine degradation while simultaneously ensuring that the desired closed loop performance is maintained. We formulate a multiobjective optimization problem with a cost function having terms representing closed loop performance and component degr...
View full abstract»

In this paper, a model-based strategy for the real-time load control of parallel hybrid vehicles is presented. The aim is to develop a fuel-optimal control which is not relying on the a priori knowledge of the future driving conditions (global optimal control), but only upon the current system operation. The methodology developed is valid for those problem that are characterized by hard constraint...
View full abstract»

This brief describes the application of direct and indirect model reference adaptive control to a lightweight low-cost quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle platform. A baseline trajectory tracking controller is augmented by an adaptive controller. The approach is validated using simulations and flight tested in an indoor test facility. The adaptive controller is found to offer increased robustness to...
View full abstract»

This brief aims to show that a linear proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is theoretically valid for tracking control of robotic manipulators driven by compliant actuators. The control problem is formulated into a three-time-scale singular perturbation formula, including a slow time scale at the rigid robot dynamics, one actual fast time scale at the actuator dynamics, and another vi...
View full abstract»

Microgrids are subsystems of the distribution grid, which comprises generation capacities, storage devices, and controllable loads, operating as a single controllable system either connected or isolated from the utility grid. In this paper, we present a study on applying a model predictive control approach to the problem of efficiently optimizing microgrid operations while satisfying a time-varyin...
View full abstract»

This paper presents an obstacle avoidance algorithm for low speed autonomous vehicles (AV), with guaranteed safety. A supervisory control algorithm is constructed based on a barrier function method, which works in a plug-and-play fashion with any lower level navigation algorithm. When the risk of collision is low, the barrier function is not active; when the risk is high, based on the distance to ...
View full abstract»

The performance and practicality of predictive energy management in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are highly dependent on the forecast of future vehicular velocities, both in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency. In this brief, we provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of three velocity prediction strategies, applied within a model predictive control framework. The prediction pro...
View full abstract»

We propose a consensus-based distributed voltage control (DVC) that solves the problem of reactive power sharing in autonomous inverter-based microgrids with dominantly inductive power lines and arbitrary electrical topology. Opposed to other control strategies available thus far, the control presented here does guarantee a desired reactive power distribution in steady state while only requiring d...
View full abstract»

Many robotic applications, such as milling, gluing, or high precision measurements, require the precise following of a predefined geometric path. We investigate the real-time feasible implementation of model predictive path-following control for an industrial robot. We consider constrained output path following with and without reference speed assignment. Finally, we present the results of an impl...
View full abstract»

Recent developments in vehicle steering systems offer new opportunities to measure the steering torque and reliably estimate the vehicle sideslip and the tire-road friction coefficient. This paper presents an approach to vehicle stabilization that leverages these estimates to define state boundaries that exclude unstable vehicle dynamics and utilizes a model predictive envelope controller to bound...
View full abstract»

This paper presents a distributed model predictive control (DMPC) algorithm for heterogeneous vehicle platoons with unidirectional topologies and a priori unknown desired set point. The vehicles (or nodes) in a platoon are dynamically decoupled but constrained by spatial geometry. Each node is assigned a local open-loop optimal control problem only relying on the information of neighboring nodes, ...
View full abstract»

Navigation problems of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) flying in a formation in a free and an obstacle-laden environment are investigated in this brief. When static obstacles popup during the flight, the UAVs are required to steer around them and also avoid collisions between each other. In order to achieve these goals, a new dual-mode control strategy is proposed: a "safe mode" is defined as an oper...
View full abstract»

Recently, the Formula 1 propulsion system has evolved from being a conventional combustion engine toward a highly integrated hybrid electric powertrain. Since 2014, the vehicles have been equipped with an electric motor for extra boosting and regenerative braking, and an electrified turbocharger to improve the engine's torque response and to recover waste heat from the exhaust gas. The powertrain ...
View full abstract»

In this paper, a predictive trajectory guidance and control framework is proposed that enables the safe operation of autonomous and semiautonomous vehicles considering the constraints of operating in dynamic public traffic. The core module of the framework is a nonlinear model predictive guidance module that uses a computationally expedient curvilinear frame for the description of the road and of ...
View full abstract»

A number of strategies for the power management of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are proposed in the literature. A key challenge is to achieve near-optimality while keeping the methodology simple. The Pontryagin's minimum principle (PMP) is suggested as a viable real-time strategy. In this brief, the global optimality of the principle under reasonable assumptions is described from a mathematical...
View full abstract»

Formation control analysis and design problems for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm systems to achieve time-varying formations are investigated. To achieve predefined time-varying formations, formation protocols are presented for UAV swarm systems first, where the velocities of UAVs can be different when achieving formations. Then, consensus-based approaches are applied to deal with the time-va...
View full abstract»

This paper is focused on tracking control for a rigid body payload that is connected to an arbitrary number of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles via rigid links. An intrinsic form of the equations of motion is derived on the nonlinear configuration manifold, and a geometric controller is constructed such that the payload asymptotically follows a given desired trajectory for its position and attit...
View full abstract»

This paper proposes a stochastic model predictive control (MPC) approach to optimize the fuel consumption in a vehicle following context. The practical solution of that problem requires solving a constrained moving horizon optimal control problem using a short-term prediction of the preceding vehicle's velocity. In a deterministic framework, the prediction errors lead to constraint violations and ...
View full abstract»

This paper develops a two-stage nonlinear nonconvex control approach for autonomous vehicle driving during highway cruise conditions. The goal of the controller is to track the centerline of the roadway while avoiding obstacles. An outer-loop nonlinear model predictive control is adopted for generating the collision-free trajectory with the resultant input based on a simplified vehicle model. The ...
View full abstract»

Many controlled systems suffer from unmodeled nonlinear effects that recur periodically over time. Model-free controllers generally cannot compensate these effects, and good physical models for such periodic dynamics are challenging to construct. We investigate nonparametric system identification for periodically recurring nonlinear effects. Within a Gaussian process (GP) regression framework, we ...
View full abstract»

This brief proposes the use of upcoming traffic signal information within the vehicle's adaptive cruise control system to reduce idle time at stop lights and fuel consumption. To achieve this goal an optimization-based control algorithm is formulated that uses short range radar and traffic signal information predictively to schedule an optimum velocity trajectory for the vehicle. The control objec...
View full abstract»

Energy consumption of a vehicle is greatly influenced by its driving behavior in highly interacting urban traffic. Strategies for fuel efficient driving have been studied and experimented with in various conceptual frameworks. This paper presents a novel control system to drive a vehicle efficiently on roads containing varying traffic and signals at intersections for improved fuel economy. The sys...
View full abstract»

We introduce a novel control network protocol, try-once-discard (TOD), for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) networked control systems (NCSs), and provide an analytic proof of global exponential stability for both the new protocol and the more commonly used (statically scheduled) access methods. Our approach is to first design the controller using established techniques and considering the net...
View full abstract»

This paper proposes a novel method for the fast determination of moment of inertia of permanent magnet synchronous machine drive systems. It is based on the use of sinusoidal perturbation signals and can determine the combined moment of inertia within one sinusoidal cycle of perturbation while the influence of viscous friction is eliminated during the modeling process. It does not need the aid of ...
View full abstract»

This paper examines the problem of optimally splitting driver power demand among the different actuators (i.e., the engine and electric machines) in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Existing studies focus mostly on optimizing PHEV power management for fuel economy, subject to charge sustenance constraints, over individual drive cycles. This paper adds three original contributions to this ...
View full abstract»

This paper presents an adaptive trajectory tracking control strategy for quadrotor micro aerial vehicles (MAVs). The proposed approach, while maintaining the common assumption of an orientation dynamics faster than the translational one, removes the assumption of absence of external disturbances and of geometric center coincident with the Center of Mass (CoM). In particular, the trajectory trackin...
View full abstract»

A distributed model predictive control (MPC) framework, suitable for controlling large-scale networked systems such as power systems, is presented. The overall system is decomposed into subsystems, each with its own MPC controller. These subsystem-based MPCs work iteratively and cooperatively towards satisfying systemwide control objectives. If available computational time allows convergence, the ...
View full abstract»

In this brief, the control problem for flexible wings of a robotic aircraft is addressed by using boundary control schemes. Inspired by birds and bats, the wing with flexibility and articulation is modeled as a distributed parameter system described by hybrid partial differential equations and ordinary differential equations. Boundary control for both wing twist and bending is proposed on the orig...
View full abstract»

The operation of groups of heavy-duty vehicles at a short inter-vehicular distance, known as platoon, allows one to lower the overall aerodynamic drag and, therefore, to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. However, due to the large mass and limited engine power of trucks, slopes have a significant impact on the feasible and optimal speed profiles that each vehicle can and should ...
View full abstract»

This brief presents a control design for a walking-assistant robot in a complex indoor environment, such that it can assist a walking-impaired person to walk and avoid unexpected obstacles. In this design, the robot motion is a resultant of autonomous navigation and compliant motion control. The compliance motion controller allows the robot to possess passive behavior following the motion intent o...
View full abstract»

This brief considers the control design problem for a flexible robotic manipulator. Our control strategies are to: 1) move the manipulator to the certain desired angle; 2) suppress the vibration at the neighborhood of the desired angle; and 3) handle the backlash nonlinearity existing in the practical system. Based on the infinite-dimensional dynamic model, a boundary controller with input backlas...
View full abstract»

Nowadays, throughput has become a limiting factor in road transport. An effective means to increase the road throughput is to employ a small intervehicle time gap using automatic vehicle-following control systems. String stability, i.e., the disturbance attenuation along the vehicle string, is considered an essential requirement for the design of those systems. However, the formal notion of string...
View full abstract»

In this brief, a novel distributed cascade robust feedback control approach is proposed for formation and reconfiguration control of a team of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). This approach is based on dynamic communication network. It guarantees intervehicle collision avoidance and considers dynamic constraints of UAVs. In the outer loop of the cascade formation c...
View full abstract»

Further Links

Aims & Scope

The IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology publishes high quality technical papers on technological advances in control engineering. The word technology is from the Greek technologia. The modern meaning is a scientific method to achieve a practical purpose. Control Systems Technology includes all aspects of control engineering needed to implement practical control systems, from analysis and design, through simulation and hardware. A primary purpose of the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology is to have an archival publication which will bridge the gap between theory and practice. Papers are published in the IEEE Transactions on Control System Technology which disclose significant new knowledge, exploratory developments, or practical applications in all aspects of technology needed to implement control systems, from analysis and design through simulation, and hardware.